Kovy signs a 4 year deal, no money announced

Kovy didn't break any rules. He is the one who was locked out (read; not payed the money agreed upon in his contract) by his employer, which in turn forced him to play in Russia, where he grew up and where his family lives. As chance would have it, he enjoyed going back. Then he is offered what is likely even more money then what his current NHL contract gives him, with lower taxes, no escrow, no lockouts or buyouts.. All in the comfort of his home town.

Why do you expect NHL players to respectfully play out their contracts, when NHL clubs frequently don't (lockouts/buyouts)? And besides.. Looking at how Kovys contract was set up, the LAST thing anyone should expect would be for him to play out it's duration.. CLEARLY, that is not what the Devs had in mind when they tried to sign him up for 17 years.

Yeah, maybe when he saw that greed got the best of the league, it left him with a bad taste.

Playing in Russia must have made him realize that feeling comfortable in your culture, being with your closest friends and family, and playing in a league where you're considered one of the top 3 players in the world are more important than competing with the best hockey players in the world for the Stanley Cup. I think it doesn't have anything to do with the Devils organization. But it may have quite a bit to do with the way the NHL is run. I'm not ready to say I agree that what he did was fair, but look at it this way. The escrow part of the CBA looks, to him, like the NHL is getting in the way of the Devils honoring his contract. So maybe he thinks: why should I honor it, either? So yeah, I'm not happy with him leaving, and I do still think it was a selfish move, but I suppose I understand his reasons.

If there were no lockout last season, Kovalchuk would still be a Devil, I'm sure.

Yeah, maybe when he saw that greed got the best of the league, it left him with a bad taste.

Playing in Russia must have made him realize that feeling comfortable in your culture, being with your closest friends and family, and playing in a league where you're considered one of the top 3 players in the world are more important than competing with the best hockey players in the world for the Stanley Cup. I think it doesn't have anything to do with the Devils organization. But it may have quite a bit to do with the way the NHL is run. I'm not ready to say I agree that what he did was fair, but look at it this way. The escrow part of the CBA looks, to him, like the NHL is getting in the way of the Devils honoring his contract. So maybe he thinks: why should I honor it, either? So yeah, I'm not happy with him leaving, and I do still think it was a selfish move, but I suppose I understand his reasons.

If there were no lockout last season, Kovalchuk would still be a Devil, I'm sure.

If he held the Devils in such high regard, how come Lou is the only one he communicated with on this way out the door? It's okay to say someone's doing things for his own personal gain, that doesn't make him a bad person because he's a merc, hell, I'd have respect for him if he held a presser and just owned up to it before leaving...

but the way he handled this is pretty snake-ish. I'm not going to go out of my way to make excuses for him. He pulled a Robert Irsay.

Kovy didn't break any rules. He is the one who was locked out (read; not payed the money agreed upon in his contract) by his employer, which in turn forced him to play in Russia, where he grew up and where his family lives. As chance would have it, he enjoyed going back. Then he is offered what is likely even more money then what his current NHL contract gives him, with lower taxes, no escrow, no lockouts or buyouts.. All in the comfort of his home town.

Why do you expect NHL players to respectfully play out their contracts, when NHL clubs frequently don't (lockouts/buyouts)? And besides.. Looking at how Kovys contract was set up, the LAST thing anyone should expect would be for him to play out it's duration.. CLEARLY, that is not what the Devs had in mind when they tried to sign him up for 17 years.

Lol you mock me calling Bullsh!t on kovy going to Russia for family reasons yet you are saying he went back as some sort of giant protest against NHL owners greed?

I'm not trying to mock anyone.. Just seems like people are throwing around alot of blame without having any actual facts.. LL confirmed that Kovy has been talking about this with him since the lockout. Maybe Kovy brought it up again after the season and LL said something like: "Well if your gonna leave, you might as well do it now." (As the cap penalty will be considerably worse for the Devils if he had stayed a few more years.) I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was how it actually went down..

For all we know, LL may have told him to NOT say anything about this untill after they had been able to sign some replacement players, as it would put the Devils in a weaker position when negotiating.. Seems to me like something that wouldn't be out of character for him (LL) at all..

I'm basically just saying stop throwing blame around when you don't have all the facts. I agree what happened sucks, I was a big fan of his and will miss watching him. This sucks badly for the Devils short term, but might not be a disaster if you look forward a few years..

I thought he was a little slower for us last season than he had been in the past, before anything happened. I just meant I don't think it was a severe injury by any stretch of the imagination. Watching him in the 2012 playoffs, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop after the season ended. So it probably is a rest thing and not the "oh no, he might need surgery" thing I thought it could be in 2012

Didn't it come out that he had sciatica from two herniated discs in his lower back? It's hard enough to walk with sciatica, forget about playing an NHL playoff game. And just because he didn't have surgery doesn't mean it wasn't a serious injury. Surgery is usually the absolute last resort when it comes to herniated discs.

His salary will be less taxed so money definitely played a part in it.

He is rich enough to buy his family plane tickets and a house here. He chose a profession that requires a lot of travel. Hell with the KHL he will be all over Eastern Europe, so how much more do you think he will see his family? I call bullsh!t on the whole " I want to be near my family" excuse.

He will probably see them a lot more considering their season consists of 30 less games.

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"Swim against the tide, don't follow the group, stay away from the majority, seek out the fresh and new, stay away from the poseurs, and don't be a barnacle. Be original, be different, be passionate, be selfless and be free. Be a hockey fan."
--John Buccigross

Didn't it come out that he had sciatica from two herniated discs in his lower back? It's hard enough to walk with sciatica, forget about playing an NHL playoff game. And just because he didn't have surgery doesn't mean it wasn't a serious injury. Surgery is usually the absolute last resort when it comes to herniated discs.

To this day, Rich Chere was the only one to mention that specific injury. He never really went into depth about how he knew, and guys like Gulitti and the rest of the hockey press never confirmed it. Curious what really happened; herniated discs can last years and affect play (or everyday activities) tremendously.